Legendary Whistleblower of Assad’s Regime Steps Forward After 12 Years in Hiding

The identity of "Caesar," who exposed the widespread torture in Syrian prisons, has been revealed. This pseudonym belonged to Farid al-Madkhan, a former senior sergeant in Damascus's military police. In 2013, he handed over 55,000 photos to international organizations, documenting the crimes of Bashar al-Assad's regime, reports NewsBox

The person who was the first to inform the world about the torture and mass killings of detainees in Syrian prisons has finally disclosed his identity. He turned out to be Farid al-Madkhan, a former senior sergeant of the Syrian military police, who had been living under the alias "Caesar" for almost 12 years.

Back in 2013, al-Madkhan secretly smuggled out 55,000 photographs from Syria that documented the brutal crimes of Bashar al-Assad's regime. These materials laid the foundation for the Caesar Act (Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act), an American law that enabled the imposition of severe sanctions against the Syrian government.

According to al-Madkhan, he took pictures of the bodies of deceased prisoners, recording evidence of torture and executions. He noted that orders for death registration came from the highest echelons, and the deceased inmates were numbered to confirm their elimination.

Al-Madkhan had planned to flee at the onset of the revolution, but stayed longer to gather as much evidence as possible. He recounted that in 2011, about 10-15 people were dying each day, but soon this number grew to 50 or more daily. According to his data, in the largest prison, Saydnaya, nearly 100,000 people have gone missing during the reigns of Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez.

After his escape, al-Madkhan spent 12 years in hiding, fearing retribution from Syrian intelligence services. Nevertheless, his revelations were a key factor in economically weakening Assad's regime due to international sanctions.